What Dangers Lie Ahead
by LuLu1007
Summary: A mysterious man learns the truth about his father, but refuses to believe he's guilty of his crimes. Persuading the Head Auror of his father's innocence could be the only way to free him. Unfortunately, life is not fair, and new tactics are being taken.
1. Prologue

Harry Potter was no longer the weird kid, as the Dursley's had preferred, but instead an exceptional wizard. He had dealt his life to defeating the darkest wizard that the Wizarding World had ever seen. Only a year old and he had managed to escape the clutches of Voldemort and live his life without his parents, and then turn that life over to the worst of all Muggles, the Dursleys. Though they were family, the Dursleys never showed a sign of affection towards Harry and instead, locked him away in a cupboard like a bad habit.

Now all of that has changed. Harry had defeated Voldemort when he was only seventeen years old at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and afterwards, while the wizarding world began to rebuild itself, Harry helped the newly elected Minister, Kingsley Shacklebolt, rebuild the Ministry and collect all of Voldemort's followers known as "Death Eaters". He was even joined on this mission by his best mate, Ron Weasley. As Harry and Ron became the Ministry's best Aurors, the rest of the Weasleys were prospering, even if they were one member short.

One Weasley member was getting top marks... Ginny had joined the Holyhead Harpies as a chaser. Shortly after she joined Gwenog Jones' team, Harry had proposed and he and Ginny were married the following year. As their love continued to blossom, so did their family. Five years into their marriage, Ginny gave birth to a son that she and Harry named James Sirius. The following year, they were blessed once again with another son named Albus Severus. Though Ginny's career as a chaser ended, she continued to keep her head up and wish for the best. Her wish had come true with an excellent job as a Quidditch correspondent for the _Daily Prophet_. Two years after Albus was born, Ginny gave birth to their third child, except this time, she got what she always wanted... a girl named Lily Luna. This beautiful girl instantly became a jewel in Harry's eyes, and he had promised to keep her and her brothers safe. Now that they are at Hogwarts, can he keep his promise?

Our story begins at Hogwarts where James is attending his Fifth year classes and studying for O.W.L.S. He is not the only Potter enrolled in this magical school, for he is joined by his brother Albus, who is in his Fourth year, and his sister, Lily, who is in her Second year. Albus and Lily, like James were enjoying the new year at Hogwarts. Albus, though fearful about the Sorting his first year, had become acquainted with his new home and met new friends. One being the son of a reformed Death Eater by the name of Scorpius Malfoy. Even Rose had befriended the young Malfoy, much to her father's wishes that she stay away from him. They were the next generation of the "Golden Trio".

Lily, on the other hand, did not befriend Scorpius, but made her own friends with her classmates. She had been frightened at first when she began her first year at Hogwarts, but learned to adapt to her new home. Now in her second year, it was a different but better change. However, this change would turn out to be more different than better.


	2. New Tactics

Lily was walking about her dormitory, which she shared with four other girls in her year, getting ready for her lessons and breakfast. She had put her last book in her bag when her friend, Arabella, came into the room.

"Come on, Lily. We'll be late for breakfast, and I'm hungry!"

"I'm almost finished," Lily said as she buttoned the latch on her bag. "There. Let's go."

Both girls walked down to the common room and out through the portrait hole. They continued on to the Great Hall, where students were gathering with their friends to talk and feast on their breakfast. Lily and Arabella walked past some older students and sat down at Gryffindor table. Arabella was so hungry that she instantly piled food on her plate. Lily looked at her friend and was reminded of her Uncle Ron and his eating habits that never seemed to have changed. She shook her head at Arabella and placed some food for herself on the plate in front of her.

Moments later, Lily heard a screech above and saw the family owl, Prongs, soaring to the table. He had several letters attached to his leg, which he held out to Lily. She quickly untied the letter from the owl's leg and petted him before he went in search of her brothers, James and Al. Lily opened the letter to find her that her father had written her.

"Hi, Lily-pad,

How are lessons coming? Learning anything that your old man didn't? I hope you are not falling asleep during Professor Binns' lessons. I know it's hard to go against the impending sleep that seems to claim you when he's going on in that boring and depressing tone, but keep your chin up. I also hope you're making the best out of your second year. Don't go looking for trouble or fall for any heroes while you're at school. I love you and miss you, as does your mother. I can't wait to see you over the holidays.

Much love,

Dad"

"Letter from home?" asked Arabella, who had long since finished her breakfast.

"Yeah, my dad. I miss him and my mum. He says to have fun and don't fall for any heroes."

"Hmm. I guess that means he wants to be the only one, huh?"

"Yeah." Lily looked down at the parchment in her hand, and silently laughed at her father's joke. She kept staring at the letter until she felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Come on, Lily. We have to get to class or we'll be late."

Lily and Arabella grabbed their bags and followed the other Hogwarts students out of the Great Hall. As the other students left for their classes, Lily and Arabella continued to follow their classmates to their first lesson of the day.

* * *

Ginny was sitting behind the desk that resided in Harry's study working on an article for work when Prongs flew through the open window. He had a letter attached to his leg that he held out for her. She carefully extracted the letter from him and fed the black owl a few treats. As the owl flew to his perch, Ginny read over the letter that was sent to her. It was, of course, from her youngest and only daughter, Lily. In her letter, she had explained her day in classes and the other events that she had witnessed. She had also entailed thanks to her father for his letter and the hero joke that had made her day a little brighter. Ginny was confused about the 'hero joke'. She didn't know that Harry had sent a letter to Lily and came to the conclusion that he must have done it before leaving for the Ministry.

She laid the letter down and continued to finish her assignment before responding to her young daughter's letter. An hour later, Ginny had finished her article and was writing her response to Lily's letter. She was halfway through it when she heard the front door open and then close. Harry was home and going about putting his things away. She even heard him walking around possibly looking for her, until he walked into his study.

"There you are. How did your day go?"

"It was fine. Finished the article and now I'm writing to Lily. Did you send her a letter this morning?"

"Yeah. I just told her to have fun and pay attention during lessons, why?" he explained, while giving her a look of concern and confusion.

"She said thank you and that the 'hero joke' cheered her up. What's this about heroes?"

"Oh, I told her not to fall for any heroes while she was at school."

"Why? What's wrong with heroes?" Ginny asked, giving Harry a sly grin.

"Nothing. I was just having a little fun with her."

"That's not all, is it? You were hoping that she would understand that you want to be the only hero in her life, right?"

"Yeah, I was going for that. She didn't happen to say that she had fallen for one or a boy for that matter, did she?" Harry asked, a little worried that his daughter might be growing up too fast.

"No. You can stop worrying."

"Good." Harry said as he let out a breath he didn't realized he was holding.

"So, Mr. Potter, how was you day at the Ministry? Catch anyone?"

"It's the same as yesterday: assign trainees, paperwork, and deal with everything else around you. Nothing new, yet."

"Oh, poor baby. No one wants to break out and give Auror Potter a run for his money," Ginny teased.

"Very funny, Gin."

* * *

Across London, in a house that seemed to be abandoned from the looks of it, sat a young man planning out his mission to rescue his father. His mother had just passed away and he was informed of who his father was. The young man, by the name of Sean Cross, was contemplating on what could be done to find his father, the man he had never known. His mother, Susan, had told him before she died that she had harbored a Death Eater on the run. She hadn't known at the time, nor did he lead her on. The night before his departure, both had become drunk on Firewhiskey and ended up in bed together. The next morning, he had left with no explanations. A little over a month later, Susan had learned that she was pregnant and that she had allowed a Death Eater, by the name of Augustus Rookwood, into her home.

Now in the present, Sean was determined to clear his father's name and break him free of his confinement. Sean realized that it wouldn't be easy since Harry Potter was the Head Auror and would never allow a Death Eater to escape nor let them be on the run for long. He had to advise a plan to convince the Auror that Rookwood was innocent and deserved to be released from Azkaban, and the only way was to speak to the Auror personally.

* * *

Harry was sitting at his desk reading over some important documents that needed to be addressed immediately and suddenly looked up at the sound of a knock at his door.

"Come in."

"Sir? There's a young man out here that would like to speak with you."

"Send him in."

"Yes, sir." Harry waited for the man and suddenly came face to face with a worn out but striking young man standing in the doorway.

"Hello. Have a seat."

"Thank you." Sean sat down in a chair on the opposite side of Harry's desk.

"What can I do for you?"

"I was wondering what could be done to free my father from Azkaban."

"Is he innocent?"

"That, sir, is something I'm not entirely sure about," stated Sean, hoping that speaking the truth would persuade the Auror to hear out his case.

"What was your father accused of?"

"Following in the wrong footsteps."

"I see. Whose footsteps would that be?"

"An evil wizard. I do not know his name. My mother feared to speak his name."

"Your mother feared his name? The only evil wizard I knew of that people feared to speak of was Voldemort. Does this mean that your father was a Death Eater?"

"Yes, sir. An innocent one, though."

"Son, there were hardly any innocent Death Eaters. The ones that were are under strict laws now. Do you mind if I ask who your father is?"

"My mother told me his name was Augustus Rookwood."

"Rookwood?!" Harry asked, surprised to hear the name mentioned.

"Yes, sir."

"Rookwood can not be released. He had been one of the most loyal to Voldemort and had harmed many people while Voldemort was alive. He was rather difficult to capture, and now he is where he should be."

"But sir, he has to be released," Sean begged.

"I'm sorry, but I can not let that happen. Any Death Eater that is released would eventually hunt me down or possibly my family. He could even harm others along the way. I can not risk that."

"Thank you, sir. I know you tried." Sean bid Harry a hasty goodbye and left the office. Making his way to the lift, a new idea sprang to life. If his father couldn't be released, then new tactics had to be taken. Someone would have to suffer as he had.

* * *

**_I hope you will enjoy this story, since it was a random plot that just occured to me one night. This is the story that is bringing me out of my writer's block. Hooray! Now, I have a proposition for any of my readers... I am looking to include another writer to help me with this story. Your ideas and clever writing will make this story an even better one. I hope that someone, no matter who it may be, will accept this offer. PM me with your response. _**


	3. Chapter 3

Letting everyone know that I have submitted a new challenge on my profile. It resides under the previous one that was submitted last year.

LoyalHufflepuff1007


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